Recent trends in personal and business financial management show an increase in automation and technology integration. Financial management applications are ubiquitous in the business world and are becoming more common among individuals as the complexity of personal finance increases. Ever-changing tax rules/compliance requirements, the growing problem of financial security (i.e., identity theft), and an increase in electronic commerce (ecommerce) transactions are contributing factors.
In the last decade, ecommerce applications have grown in popularity among businesses and consumers. In addition to fast-adopters such as the online retail industry, many of the traditionally slow-to-adopt industries have made the transition to ecommerce. For example, many government agencies and public utilities now offer online payment and services. For the average consumer, the effect of this massive transition has been to greatly reduce the need for paper checks and non-electronic transaction types.
While cash and check transactions are still common, they are less frequent in today's market due to accounting and security concerns. Modern budgeting tools are able to automatically track most expenses both into and out of an individual's bank account. On the other hand, transacting in cash requires the payee to keep track of his/her transactions manually. The hassle of recording and tracking cash and check transactions is augmented by the inconvenience of carrying correct dollar amounts and/or loose change.
As a result of these trends, private and corporate interests have invested resources in the creation of standards and formats for electronic financial data exchange. Standards such as Open Financial Exchange (OFX) and Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) have created a wider range of product offerings and cross-platform functionality. Accordingly, individuals and businesses have a larger assortment of financial data available to them and are utilizing financial software applications and services at an unprecedented rate.